It has often seemed to me impossible for a man to behave consistently with the same fearless courage that Christ evidently displayed, unless he had a complete disregard for death, and that virtually means he too must believe in his own immortality. Certainly Christ is said to have prophesied his own resurrection, which suggests that he was supremely confident that he was immortal. In professional life, such confidence is rare. The great orator Danton may have advised - audacity, audacity, and audacity; but in the Crown Court fear is generally the mechanism which guides the advocate as to how much to say, and when to stop. From having watched my colleagues, I think the way fear works is that you say as much as you dare, and in as vivid language as you dare, but you are prevented from going to excess by your fear. In this way you avoid being led away by your own enthusiasms either into exaggeration, or into saying things which are not true. In contrast you do find very competent advocates, whose confidence is a weakness as well as a strength, because it leads them into an excess of language which the facts do not warrant, or into long-windedness. I can remember one occasion particularly, when a very good mitigation was made at York Assizes; but long before the end I could hear…